Haryana Farmers head for a mall crawl

I have given economic value to farmers' land," says Haryana's CM, whose sustained policy of liberally granting licences to convert nearly 22,000 acres of
farmland for commercial and residential use has clearly also benefited
farmer-owners like never before, particularly in districts that are part of the NCR.

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Asit Jolly

November 30, 1999

ISSUE DATE: December 30, 2013

UPDATED: December 28, 2013 17:13 IST

I have given economic value to farmers' land," says Haryana's 67-year-old Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, whose sustained policy of liberally granting licences to convert nearly 22,000 acres of farmland for commercial and residential use has clearly also benefited farmer-owners like never before, particularly in districts that are part of the National Capital Region (NCR).

Haryana's per capita income, at Rs 123,554, is the highest among big states and the state also has the highest investment per capita in India. Minimum wages to workers of all categories including NREGS are the highest in the country.

ASSOCHAM's November 2012 estimates show that 319 of every 1,000 employees work in the industrial sector in urban areas of the state against the national average of 242, while most others are employed in the services sector.

Hooda says, "The state of Haryana has witnessed more urbanisation than anywhere else over the past eight years." The affluence is telling: Gurgaon and Faridabad are fast catching up with the Capital in the number of branded consumer outlets in malls.

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